The Lagos State Government has attributed the recent piles of uncollected waste across parts of the metropolis to the ongoing decommissioning of the Olusosun landfill, a development that has significantly altered refuse disposal operations and stretched existing logistics.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this in a statement shared on his official X handle on Monday, following growing public concern over waste accumulation in several neighbourhoods. He assured residents that emergency measures were already in place to restore normalcy.
According to Wahab, refuse that was previously disposed of at the Olusosun landfill is now being redirected to alternative sites in Epe and Badagry. The shift, he explained, has increased travel distances and turnaround time for some Private Sector Participation operators, creating temporary delays in waste evacuation.
He said the longer haulage routes have placed added pressure on the system, resulting in noticeable backlogs in certain areas of the state. Wahab, however, stressed that the situation was being closely monitored and actively addressed.
To mitigate the impact, the commissioner revealed that the Lagos Waste Management Authority had been mandated to intervene where PSP operators were struggling to cope. He said LAWMA teams were already carrying out intervention exercises, particularly in areas identified as waste black spots.
Wahab further disclosed that the state government was in discussions to procure and deploy additional waste evacuation trucks to improve response time and strengthen LAWMA’s operational capacity across Lagos.
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On enforcement, the commissioner announced the establishment of a special task force to combat illegal roadside dumping and indiscriminate refuse disposal, which he said had worsened the situation in some corridors of the state. The task force, he added, would operate round-the-clock surveillance and enforcement to curb the menace.
He also confirmed that arrests had been made following early morning operations conducted on Monday by the LAWMA Waste Infractions Surveillance and Investigation Team. The exercise, he said, formed part of sustained efforts to clear persistent waste black spots and deter environmental offenders.
Wahab urged residents to dispose of their waste responsibly and to patronise only approved PSP operators, warning that illegal dumping would attract stiff penalties. While acknowledging the inconvenience caused by the disruption, he reassured Lagosians of the government’s commitment to environmental sanitation.
He said the administration remained focused on building a cleaner, more orderly and sustainable Lagos, despite the short-term challenges posed by the Olusosun landfill decommissioning.
